Conventional fabric-covered structures are typically permanent shelters that are made from a frame including four or more rigid arches interconnected at the top and bottom by a plurality of rigid transverse members. The frame is first assembled and then covered with a one-piece fabric cover that is attached to the frame members. Typically, the frame is made of U-shaped structural members and the fabric is stuffed in the open side of the members. This holds the fabric in place once the structure is assembled.
The assembled structure is then typically coated or sprayed with cement or a rigid plastic foam material. When hardened, this material forms a permanent roof that has the same shape as the fabric cover. The fabric roof form can then be removed and re-used in the fabrication of other shelters. Thus, this structure does not have a removable and replaceable fabric roof which is both functional and esthetically pleasing. U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,663 is an example of this type of permanent shelter.
Alternatively, the fabric cover can be left uncoated. In this case, the cover becomes the roof of the shelter. However, when the fabric wears and has to be replaced, or the occupant desires to replace the cover for aesthetic reasons, quite a bit of work is involved. The structure must first be partially disassembled to loosen the fabric cover. Then, the cover is removed as a unit by pulling or sliding it off of the structural members. This sequence is repeated in reverse for the installation of a new cover. However, the size and weight of the one-piece cover make it extremely unwieldy, which makes the replacement process difficult and time consuming.
Because the frame is relatively difficult to assemble and the cover relatively difficult to replace, these fabric-covered shelters are not ideal, permanent or semi-permanent, modular buildings. Rather, they are typically simply fairly small, temporary shelters that are not well suited for permanent habitation. The shelters that are well suited for permanent habitation typically do not have removable and replaceable fabric covers and are therefore not true fabric covered structures.